Wake Me Up When September Ends
by Dash-Rendar
Summary: Based off of Green Day's song and video for Wake Me Up When September Ends. AU. Dick and Kori are married... JUST READ IT!


Teen Titans

Wake Me Up When September Ends

A/N: Hey guys! I'm going to be writing a story using the song and video for Green Day's Wake Me Up When September Ends as inspiration. I won't be using the song lyrics directly in the story, but I might take a thing or two from the video. You should be able to follow it.

Have a good read!

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The summer sun was just setting over the horizon, making the water in the bay shimmer like orange fire. The sky was a dark red, accented by some purple and yellow here and there. Inhaling through his nose, Dick Grayson stood on the front deck of his house, taking in the sights. "I see why I moved up here. It's beautiful," he said, taking Kori's hand in his. "Almost as beautiful as you."

Kori blushed deeply. "You know I hate how you do that. It makes me feel uncomfortable and happy at the same time." She leaned over, putting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders and pulled her a bit closer.

"Sorry, babe. It's true though." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and smiled at her, his blue eyes shining. "Well, are you ready to head in?"

Kori took one last look at the scene before her and said, "Can I ask you something first?"

Eyebrows furrowed, he said, "I guess. What is it?" He sat down on the steps, stretching out his legs.

"You're never going to leave me, are you?" Kori asked, sitting down next him, leaning over and putting her head on his shoulder.

Dick chuckled, a deep sounding laugh in the back of his throat. "What do you think? If I could, I'd have this moment – the view, the smells, the way you look right now – last forever." He smiled again before kissing her lightly on the lips before standing and dusting his jeans off. "Let's head inside. It's starting to get a bit chilly."

"Okay," Kori said, smiling. She wrapped an arm around Dick's waist and they both headed into the house. Just as Dick went inside, the sun caught the gold ring on his left hand – the wedding band that was only 6 months old.

They both got ready for bed and climbed in, both tired from the day's events. After a few minutes, Dick was snoring quietly, chest rising and falling in a regular rhythm. Kori was on her side, staring at the clock. She always found it hard to get to sleep, especially after the marriage. All kinds of thoughts were running through her head. 'Will we be able to get the house payment in on time? Will the car break down or something when we least expect it?'

Finally, at 12:00, she got to sleep. Her breathing was quiet, almost shallow. Rolling over, she snuggled into Dick's side, head resting on his chest.

8:00 the next morning, the alarm was blaring loudly, causing Dick to snort loudly and mumble something completely unintelligible before running his hand down his face and rolling over to slap the alarm off. Yawning quietly, he stretched and got out of bed as gently as possible to not wake Kori. Ambling to the bathroom, he had a quick shower before heading to the kitchen and started to make breakfast.

By 8:30, the smell of bacon, eggs and freshly brewed coffee was wafting through the house. Kori stirred, smelling something and sat up, yawning and rubbing her eyes. Dick wasn't in bed, so she got up, grabbing her purple bathrobe that complimented her green eyes. "Morning, honey," she said sleepily, coming into the kitchen, seeing Dick fully dressed and standing over the stove, stirring the scrambled eggs.

He smiled. "Morning Gorgeous. How'd you sleep?" He spooned the eggs onto a plate with bacon and toast beside him and moved it to the table, where a mug of coffee was sitting. He quickly grabbed some silverware and put it out before heading back to make his own plate.

Sitting down, she took a sip of coffee before responding. "Not bad. I mean, I had a pretty good pillow." She grinned as Dick sat down across from her and grabbed the pepper from the rack in the center of the table and sprinkled some onto his eggs.

"I bet you did," he said, taking a bite of his food and swallowing. "So, what we doing today? Any special plans?" He took a swig of coffee and another bite of eggs.

Kori thought. "Not really. I gotta be to work by 11:00 so I was just going to do some housecleaning. If you want to, you can clean out the gutters and the pool filter. That will save me some time, so I can clean the bedroom and living room. Then we can meet here to do the dishes if there's time." She had finished her food and put the dishes in the sink to be washed. The coffee was finished a few seconds later.

Dick nodded. "Okay, I'll go get started on that." He put his dishes in the sink and kissed Kori quickly before slipping his shoes on and grabbing the rake from the closet. "I'm going to go grab the ladder. I'll let you know if I need any help." He was out the door before Kori could say anything else.

She shook her head. "That guy is so work oriented." She went back to the bedroom and got dressed quickly. She needed work clothes for around the house but something appropriate for work, so she got a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. As she started to clean up the bedroom, she heard the scraping of a rake in the gutters. Dick was just outside the window, face contorted in concentration as he pulled the leaves and branches out. A loud squawk was heard and a crow flew up and away.

Dick rolled his eyes before scooping out the last of the gutters. Sighing, he put the ladder back in the small shed out back and went to empty the pool filter of anything that was in it. Dumping the contents into the compost bin, he replaced the basket, added a chlorine tablet and checked the water temperature.

He glanced at his watch. It read 10:15, so he quickly grabbed the rake and headed back inside, kicking his shoes off and putting the rake back in the closet. "Kori, you done in the living room yet?"

She was in the kitchen waiting for him, a dishrag in hand and a towel over her shoulder. "I was done about five minutes ago. Here," she said, tossing him the towel, "start drying these dishes would you?"

Smiling, Dick started to dry and stacked the dishes neatly before sticking them back into their proper cupboards. Glancing at the clock, he said, "You gotta get to work, hon. It's 10:30 and it's a 15 minute drive. You need to be there at a quarter to, right?"

She glanced over and sighed. "I guess I gotta go." She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and grabbed her car keys. Dick stood on the porch and waved goodbye before heading back in to finish the dishes. Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Delivery for Dick Grayson!" a voice called from outside.

Putting the towel back over his shoulder, Dick opened the door. "I didn't order anything…" He saw who the package was from and immediately signed the form before heading back inside to open it. Inside were an army uniform, dog tags and a small pistol with three loaded clips.

A note was attached to the uniform. "Mr. Grayson, you have been accepted into Platoon 546, as requested. Please report to the Base at 0900 on Friday afternoon. Sincerely, Commander Hortons.

Dick smiled and closed the package back up and stuck it in his closet on the top shelf. He'd worry about that later. He needed to finish cleaning the house before Kori got home. He finished drying the dishes and started to clean the hardwood floor with a Swiffer duster.

At 5:00, the house was spotless and Dick was out in the pool, swimming laps. Kori came into the driveway and saw her husband swimming. Shutting the car off, she walked over. "How was your day, Dick?" she asked, leaning on the edge of the fence.

Pulling himself out of the pool and onto the edge, he said, "Not bad. House is cleaned, dishes are done and I've been out here swimming since 4:30." He grabbed his towel and dried off before heading into the house. The oven timer just went off, signaling that dinner was ready. Pulling a shirt on, he put on some gloves and pulled out the pizza he had made the night before.

"Dinner's ready!" he called to Kori as she entered the house. He quickly put it on the stove to cool a bit as he opened the refrigerator to grab the root beer. Pouring it into some glasses, he asked, "How was work?"

Sitting down, she replied, "Not bad. It was pretty quiet, actually. Only a few people in and out, so I spent most of it just talking to the other employees, getting to know them better." She took a slice of pizza and bit into it.

Dick thought, 'I should tell her about the package that came today.' Before he could say anything, she said, "I have some news that you'd probably be interested in." She dug into her purse and pulled out an envelope. Curious, he opened it. What he read pushed all thoughts of military uniforms out of his mind.

"YOU'RE PREGNANT?!" he exclaimed, eyes as wide as the dinner plates in the cupboards. His face was split open with a smile, tears welling up in his eyes. "This is… this is great!"

She smiled and rose to give him a hug. 'He's taking this a lot better than I thought he would,' she thought to herself. "You're going to make a fine father Dick."

Then he remembered the uniform. 'If I'm alive to be its father,' he thought. He pulled back, his face serious now. "I have something to show you. Just promise me you won't freak out, okay?"

She nodded and let him go. He headed down the hall to the bedroom and grabbed the box from the top shelf. He placed it on the table before her. "Go ahead and open it," he said, sitting down and bracing for impact.

The box flipped open and Kori gasped, hands flying to her mouth. "Tell me you didn't," she whispered. "Please tell me you didn't."

Dick blinked back a few tears. "I wish I could baby," he choked out, his head in his hands. "I wish I could."

She stood, no longer shocked, but angry. "How could you do this and not tell me? I thought you would at least have enough guts to let me know that you're joining the military!" She stared at him, her eyes flashing wildly.

He also rose and stared at her. "You know what? I didn't tell you because I knew this is how you'd react! I did this _for us_! I did this so _we_ can live in this house, so that any children _we_ have will be safe from terrorist freaks!" He turned and walked off down the hall.

She sat down and started crying again. The tears fell like rain onto the countertop, beading into little balls. Just then, a boom of thunder sounded and a flash of lightning cracked across the sky. The rain started hammering on the roof a few seconds later. "Why does this always happen to me?" she asked herself, still sobbing.

In the bedroom, Dick was flopped on the bed, face stuffed into his pillow. "I knew I should have told her right away," he mumbled into the pillow. Rolling over, he started staring at the ceiling. "I leave tomorrow for the base. I just hope she won't kill me before then."

He came out of the room and entered the kitchen. "Kori?" he asked quietly, as if testing to see if she would explode at him.

She raised her head and looked at him with red eyes. "What is it Dick?"

He walked over and hugged her close. "I'm sorry. I should have told you sooner."

She half smiled into his shoulder and said, "I shouldn't have freaked out the way I did. If you want to do this, I respect that. Just don't get yourself killed, okay?"

"You got it. I gotta come home to see the kid, right?" He smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Well, I gotta be at the base by 9:00 tomorrow, so we should get some sleep."

Kori nodded. "Yea, I guess we should. Let's go." She walked off down the hall with Dick, her arm around his waist, head on his shoulder.

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The alarm went off at 7:00 today. Dick groaned as usual and slapped it off, got out of bed as quietly as possible and took a quick shower. He headed back to the bedroom and grabbed the uniform he had laid out the night before, slid into it and attached the 9mm pistol to his belt, sticking the clips in the side pouch. His dog tags were around his neck, tucked into his collar.

Kori sat up and stared at him with bleary eyes. "Dick? You leaving already?" She rolled out of bed and onto the floor as Dick finished buttoning up his uniform.

He kissed her lightly and nodded. "I gotta go now, baby. They want me there early. I gotta get my basic training as soon as possible. I guess they're sending me off to Iraq with Platoon 546."

She was instantly awake. "They're sending you out already? But you just joined!" She clung to his green camouflage uniform, as if she could hold him in place with sheer willpower.

"I'm sorry Kori. I didn't know until yesterday. Don't worry, I'll be fine." He grabbed his duffel bag of clothes that he had packed the night before and kissed Kori one last time before heading out the door and climbed into a Hummer that was waiting in the driveway.

Kori came out in her bathroom just in time to see the vehicle backing out of the driveway. Waving as it drove away, she started crying as soon as it was out of sight. 'That could be the last time I ever see him again,' she thought to herself sadly before heading inside to make breakfast.

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Three months later, Kori was sitting in front of the large TV Dick had insisted they buy, watching the news report. Her heart leapt as footage of a street fight in Iraq showed on the screen. The news anchor said, "This just in – Platoon 546 has been ambushed by supporters of Osama bin Laden. So far, only two injured and one dead. The dead soldier is a…" He stopped for a minute to consult a clipboard on his desk. "Ah, here we go. The dead soldier is a Lieutenant Richard John Grayson. According to this, he has a wife at home and a baby on the way."

The TV shut off with a soft click and Kori started to cry as never before. Just then, a knock came at the door. Quickly drying her eyes, she made her way to see who it was. She opened the large oak door to see Dick standing in front of her. "Dick?" she asked, as if unsure he was real. "They just said you were killed…"

Dick grinned. "I got pulled off the plane at the last minute. They found out that they had sent the package to the wrong person. There was another Richard Grayson in the area that had been discharged for stealing arms, but they later found out it wasn't him. They were returning his uniform and weapon to him so he could return to duty." He pointed to the house in general. "He used to live here and when he moved, he forgot to change his mailing address."

Kori squealed happily and grabbed Dick in a bear hug, which caused him to wheeze, "Can't… breath… honey…" She chuckled and released him from his hug before pulling him into a kiss. After a minute, she pulled back and asked, "So, are you in the military or not?"

Dick grinned again. "They apparently didn't get my application. Must have gotten lost in the mail or something. If you don't want me to go in, I'll stay home and find other work." He pulled her into another hug and rested his chin on her head.

"You can do whatever you want, Dick. I support your decision." Kori said as they walked into the house. "If you want to join, don't let me stop you."

He smiled. "I'm not going to take the chance that I'll get killed and never get to see you and our child or children again. I'll head off to school and become a teacher or something. I was a straight A student and I have all those bursaries."

Kori kissed him again. "A smart choice. Then you can see the kids everyday." She sat down in the living room, next to Dick on the couch. "Go get it, Dick."  
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Twelve years later, the alarm went off, as it did every morning, at 6:30. Dick rolled out of bed, took a shower and got dressed before quickly eating a bowl of cereal and some toast. His 12-year-old son, Ryan, came out, dressed, with backpack in hand. "Morning Dad. You ready to go?" He was an early riser and had already eaten.

Dick grinned and ruffled his son's black hair. "Just let me finish breakfast, okay sport?" He took another bite from his toast and a swig from his coffee before rising. "Okay, let's go kiddo. You want to go bang on the drums in the music room before class starts?"

Ryan nodded. "You know it. I love going to work with you. I get access to everything. Why did you become a music teacher again?" They both went out the Honda Odyssey that was parked in the driveway. Dick started the car and drove off to his job at Pine Grove Middle School, where he was the music and band teacher.

"Well, I wanted a job that I could see you a lot and still stay here so Mom would be happy. You know how she talks on the phone for an hour every night? If we moved away, that hour would get stretched into 2 or 3 hours easy." He made a quick stop at the end of the street and turned onto the main road.

They both reached the school a few minutes later and Ryan hopped out, ready to go. "Hey, Dad, you seen my drumsticks?" He finished the sentence just as his father pulled out a set of Headhunter drumsticks from the back seat.

"You mean these?" the older man asked with a grin. He ruffled his son's hair again and they both walked into the school. Dick made some last minute touches to his lesson plan for the day and Ryan had fun beating the snot outta the new Pearl kit Dick had bought for the music program.

Dick grinned seeing his son having a blast. 'If I had joined the military, I could be dead right now and I'd never have such an awesome family.' He thought of Kori and his 8-year-old daughter, Alicia, who was at home sleeping, waiting to get to grade 4.

He smiled again and made a note on his agenda. In red ink, which meant 'Must do' in Dick's book, he wrote 'Show family how special they are to me.'

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A/N: Well, that's another story done! Hope you all enjoyed! Drop me a review with some feedback.

Love, peace and chicken grease!

Dash


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